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Roberto Olayo Alarcon
Most of my education has been as a student of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM for its name in Spanish). Currently, I am a seventh semester student of the Undergraduate Program in Genomic Sciences from this university. My background consists mainly of a combination of biology, mathematics and computer science.
Most of my research experience has been in bioinformatics and biological data analysis. I believe it is important to tackle one of the most important challenges of our time: Antibiotic Resistance.
Currently, I am searching for postgraduate opportunities to progress my career as a researcher. I would like to do research that aims to solve questions dealing with antibiotic resistance through a quantitative/computational approach.
Education
Bs.C Genomic Sciences
National Autonomous Univeristy of Mexico
Cuernavaca, Mexico
2020 - 2016
- Current general grade: 9.83/10
- Four-year bachelor’s program. Combined background of biology, mathematics and informatics.
High School
Escuela Nacional Preparatoria 6 “Antonio Caso” UNAM
Mexico City, Mexico
2016 - 2013
- General grade: 9.48/10
- Specialized in biological and chemical studies
Publications
GeDex: A consensus Gene-disease Event Extraction System based on frequency patterns and supervised learning
Currently under review.
N/A
2019
- Pre-print available https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/839704v2
- co-First Author.
- This project was developed under Dr. Carlos Mendez-Cruz.
Awards and Scholarships
Beca Excelencia Academica Olimpiadas
Mexican Academy of Sciences
N/A
2020 - 2018
- This scholarship is awarded by the Mexican Academy of Sciences to bachelor students with high academic achievement and that were awarded a medal at one the National Science Olympiads
Programa de Capacitacion en Metodos de Investigacion
Secretariat of Public Education and National Autonomous University of Mexico
N/A
2016
- This scholarship finances international internships for students, of any level, with high academic achievement.
Pre-University Science Fair
Second Place
N/A
2016
- This science fair awards outstanding projects performed by high-school students in public institutions
- Described the effect of garlic extracts as an inhibitor of growth of fungus.
National Biology Olympiad
Third Place
N/A
2016
- The National Biology Olympiad is organized by the Mexican Academy of Sciences.
- Students that were previously selected by their respective state competitions, take a written and practical exam in hopes of reaching first place, and the chance to represent Mexico in international competitions.
LANGUAGES
Spanish: Native
English: Native
German: Beginner
Research Experience
I have mainly worked in the areas of Epigenomics, Machine Learning and Metagenomics; almost always involved in the computational aspects of the projects I participate in.
Dr. Robert Schneider
Institute of Functional Epigenetics
Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen
2020 - 2019
- Describing mechanisms behind transcriptional memory.
- Used predictive models to relate enhancers to regulated genes.
- Describing possible roles of Histone 1 subtypes during cell differentiation.
Dr. Carlos Medez Cruz
Center for Genomic Sciences UNAM
UNAM
2020 - 2018
- Supervised learning approaches in Natural Language Processing
- Developed GeDEx; an automatic tool that captures consensus relationships between genes and diseases from a collection of abstracts.
- Benchmarked performance of Deep Learning models to predict antibiotic resistance from genomic sequences.
Dr. Julio Freyre
Center for Genomic Sciences UNAM
UNAM
2019 - 2017
- Participated in Systems Biology Workshop
- Implemented and reviewed tools that predict gene regulatory networks in bacteria (manuscript in preparation)
Dr. Alejandro Sanchez Flores
Institute of Biotechnology
UNAM
2019 - 2018
- Participated in metagenomics workshop
- Uncovered changes in the microbiome of pigs during the first months of life, as a result of consumption of different diets
- Uncovered differentially expressed genes in intestinal tissues as a result of consumption of different diets
Dr. Robert Schneider
Institute of Functional Epigenetics
Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen
2018
- Uncovered genes that show transcriptional memory after repeated exposure to stress.
- Summer internship
Dr. Ana de Busturia
Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa
Autonomous University of Madrid
2017
- Regulation of polycomb genes by non-coding RNAs
- Winter internship made possible by the Programa de Capacitacion en Metodos de Investigacion scholarship
Dr. Santiago Castillo
Center for Genomic Sciences
UNAM
2017
- Detection of insertion sequences conferring antibiotic resistance in A. baumanii strains.
- Phylogenomics and comparative genomics.
- Fall semester internship
Ms.C Esteban Lopez
Escuela Nacional Preparatoria 6 “Antonio Caso” UNAM
UNAM
2016 - 2015
- Described the effect of garlic extracts as an inhibitor of growth of fungus.
- Won second place in the pre-university science fair
Dr. Magda Latorre Esteves
Winter 2012 Pre-College Research Symposium
University of Puerto Rico
2013
- Analyzed the effect of time of exposure to UV light on the growth of S. cerevisiae.
- Presented poster at a symposium
Teaching Experience
I really like being involved in teaching and science communication. I believe that teachers have allowed me to reach my goals, and I would like to help others do the same.
Seminar in Statistics
Center for Genomic Sciences
UNAM
2019
- Teaching Assistant. Also lectured on basics of R
- This class is offered to undergraduates and postgraduates working at the Center for Genomic Sciences
- Organized by Dr. Ayari Fuentes and Dr. Diego Cortez
Introduction to Machine Learning
Center for Genomic Sciences
UNAM
2019
- Teaching Assistant. Lectured session on backpropagation
- Course offered to students interested in Machine Learning and Deep Learning at the Center for Genomic Sciences
- Course organized by Dr. Carlos Mendez Cruz
Preparation for the State Biology Olympiad
Escuela Nacional Preparatoria 6 “Antonio Caso”
UNAM
2016
- Organized and lectured
- Summer course offered to high-school students interested in participating in the selection round for the National Biology Olympiad
- Organized by Ms.C Esteban Lopez
Special Courses
Antibiotic Resistance: Mechanisms and Perspectives
Center for Genomic Sciences
UNAM
2019
- Graduate course offered to students at the Center for Genomic Sciences.
- Organized by Dr. Miguel Cevallos Gaos
Worskhop: Introduction to Deep Learning
Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos
UNAM
2018
- Workshop offered to anybody interested in deep learning
- Lectured by Dr. Edgar F. Román Rangel
Basics of Applied Machine Learning
Center for Genomic Sciences
UNAM
2018
- Optional undergraduate course.
- Organized by Dr. Carlos Mendez Cruz
Press (About)
Tres medallas para preparatorianos en la Olimpiada Nacional de Biologia
Gaceta Universitaria de la ENP
N/A
2016
- Brief piece about my experiences during the National Biology Olympiad
- Available at http://dgenp.unam.mx/gaceta/2016/14-2015-2016-348.pdf